1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an electronic component carrier for continuously transferring and feeding electronic components, such as an integrated circuit (IC) and a large-scale integrated circuit (LSI), to an applicator for applying them to circuit boards.
2. Prior Art
Electronic component carriers of the tape reel type have now been extensively used since they are considered to be best suited for automatic high-speed processing of electronic components. One such known carrier of the tape reel type comprises a tape-like substrate having a series of feed perforations formed through one lateral edge portion of the substrate and spaced equally from one another along the length of the substrate, and an adhesive layer formed either continuously or discontinuously on one side of the substrate, so that electronic components are bonded to the adhesive layer in spaced relation to one another.
In such a conventional carrier, although it is necessary that the electronic components be firmly bonded to the adhesive layer during the transfer thereof or during the storage thereof, the electronic components also need be smoothly removed from the adhesive layer when feeding them to the applicator for applying them to circuit boards. Thus, if an adhesive having a high adhesive strength is used so as to firmly hold the electronic components, then in contrast, the electronic components can not so easily be removed from the adhesive layer, thus failing to smoothly supply the electronic components to the applicator.